Coast Redwood
Scientific Name – Sequoia sempervirens
These trees are native to a narrow coastal belt running from Oregon to south of Monterey Bay, California and included in this belt is the tallest tree in the world standing at 112.4m. They were introduced to the UK and Ireland via Russia in 1843 and are commonly found in parks and large gardens. Generally they form poor, thin specimens in the British Isles however in the north and south east of Ireland they grow to be huge trees.
The bark of these trees ranges from bright red to dark reddish brown on older trees usually on older trees which have deep fissures divided by thick, intertwined ridges. The bark is normally very thick but is soft and stringy. Trees normally have a broadly columnar growth pattern and is pointed when young becoming flat topped with age or in exposed sites. Trees grow rapidly in damp, sheltered sites, with growth of up to 1.3m recorded in some instances and trees commonly reach 30m after 30 years. Some may live as long as 2,600 years but normally survive for 700 to 1000 years.
